1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector for use in a wire harness in an automotive vehicle, and a terminal for use in such a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a general practice to detach connectors used in an automotive vehicle or the like therefrom every several months or every several years for maintenance and checkup thereof. It is highly likely that arc discharge may occur at a detachment of terminals of the connectors when the terminal of one of the connectors is about to be withdrawn from the corresponding terminal of the opposite one of the connectors. Particularly, it is conceivable that a considerably large amount of arc is discharged in view of the recent development of technology in which a higher source voltage is supplied for a battery of an automotive vehicle. Thus, it is highly likely that the terminals may be damaged due to occurrence of such large amount of arc discharge.
Generally, a male terminal has a bar-like or a plate-like shape with a lead end thereof tapered in order to facilitate insertion into a female terminal. Every time the male terminal is disengaged from and engaged into the female terminal, arc discharge occurs. The repeated engagement and disengagement causes to melt the tapered lead end of the male terminal due to repeated arc discharges. The melted part of the male terminal is cooled to solidify, accompanied with shifting of the melted part slightly toward a base end thereof. As a result, the tapered lead end of the male terminal disappears accompanied by increase of a diameter thereof. In other words, the terminal is likely to be deformed due to melting by repeated arc discharges, which may result in contact failure with the female terminal or, in a worse case, difficulty or inability of insertion into the female terminal.
It is an object of the invention to provide a terminal, terminal producing method, and connector which are free from the problems residing in the prior art.
According to an aspect of the invention, a terminal has a region having a last contact part with a counterpart terminal when the terminal is disengaged from the counterpart terminal. The region is formed with an insulating section. A conductive section is formed on a surface of the insulating section. The conductive section is electrically connectable to the counterpart terminal.
With this arrangement, the terminals are electrically connectable until the counterpart terminal is detached from the conductive section of the terminal, and arc discharge can be remarkably suppressed by the insulating section. Thus, deformation of the terminal can be effectively suppressed.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawing.